Aquarium Fish Expert Sam Fernald Explains Why Hillstream Loaches are Worth the Hype!
Where in the world are Sunda, Wallacea, and Sahul? My guest today, Sam Fernald - a life-long aquarist, taxonomist, and founder and co-owner of Hillstream Kingdom LLC, a specialty aquarium fish wholesaler based in Maine and Guangdong - has a great appreciation for, and expertise with the fishes from these areas around SE Asia and the South Pacific – including the unusual and beautiful hillstream loaches. Join us, as Sam explains the geologic and evolutionary importance of their native ranges and shares his passion and interest in bringing these beautiful, new species into the aquarium hobby.
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BIO:
Samuel Joseph Fernald is a lifelong aquarium hobbyist from coastal Maine. After many trips to Asia, Sam developed a passion for several families of fish which weren’t yet popular in America: The Gastromyzontidae “hillstream loaches,” and the gemscales from the Atherinomorpha Infraseries. He also works with freshwater gobies from both Gobionellinae and Sicyniidae groupings and has long kept Mastacembelidae “spiny eels” as his pets. With an ever-growing e-commerce footprint––and fishermen from Papua New Guina to Burma––Sam’s team continues to expand the US market for native Asian aquatic fauna. To collect and distribute his animals stateside, Sam founded an import warehouse with his partners in China under the company name Hillstream Kingdom LLC during the pandemic, which solely operates wholesale business out of Maine and Guangdong. Together with his partners, his team has quietly catalogued and sold many thousands of loaches, gobies, spiny eels and more––worldwide––and are responsible for bringing new ornamental varieties of rare flora and fauna to industry. Outside of fishkeeping Dr. Fernald works as an epidemiologist with specialties in population programming and drafting public policy related to pandemics and mental illness. He also has extensive, prior experience with taxonomy, human virology and zoonotic pathogens (specifically related to Chinese cave and tomb bats).